Miami Marlins Reportedly Considering Adding Former Royals Speedster Adalberto Mondesi
The Miami Marlins are still looking for a shortstop and Adalberto Mondesi remains an option, The New York Post's Jon Heyman reported Tuesday morning.
Mondesi missed the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL he suffered in May 2022. He has appeared in just 50 MLB games and 19 minor league contests since the start of 2021.
The 28-year-old infielder spent seven seasons with the Kansas City Royals before he was traded to the Boston Red Sox last offseason. Mondesi entered free agency in November.
Following the 2015 and 2016 seasons, MLB Pipeline ranked Mondesi as the No. 1 prospect in the Royals' system. Mondesi topped out as the No. 37 prospect in all of baseball back in 2016.
Mondesi made his big league debut in that year, appearing in 47 games as a rookie. He played another 25 games at the MLB level in 2017, but was unable to find much success at the plate.
Across 75 games in 2018, Mondesi finally broke out by batting .276 with an .804 OPS. Mondesi took on a more consistent role in 2019 and 2020, when he led the American League with 24 stolen bases during the COVID-shortened season.
Between those three years, Mondesi hit .265 with 29 home runs, 121 RBI, 99 stolen bases, a .741 OPS and a 5.5 WAR in 236 games.
In his other four seasons of MLB action, however, Mondesi hit .192 with nine home runs, 36 RBI, 34 stolen bases, a .544 OPS and a -1.2 WAR in 122 games.
The Marlins exercised their team option on utility man Jon Berti in November, but infielders Garrett Hampson and Joey Wendle signed with the Royals and New York Mets, respectively, a few weeks later. Wendle and Hampson combined to start 107 games at shortstop for Miami in 2023, compared to Berti's 52.
That leaves plenty of innings open at short for the Marlins, and Mondesi could fill that role in 2024, if healthy.
Mondesi drew 241 starts at shortstop for the Royals, compared to 64 at second base and 20 at third. For his career, Mondesi has a 1.6 defensive WAR, despite recording -1 defensive runs saved at short and -1 defensive runs saved at third.
The Marlins also ranked No. 23 in baseball with 86 stolen bases last year, and Mondesi could additionally act as an immediate shot in the arm in that statistic.
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